Fifteen Animals! (Boynton on Board)

A young child has 15 pets of various species, but what are their names?

This is a very silly little book that subverts expectations by giving the final pet a name other than Bob. Young readers and listeners anticipate what will happen and giggle over that -- and then guffaw when it turns out to be something totally different! This type of humor makes for a book that will appeal to both kids and parents/caregivers.

The illustrations are in Sandra Boynton's signature style. If you usually like those, you'll like them here. If you don't generally like those, expect not to like them again -- although at least here hopefully the humor is enough for you to find this book enjoyable anyway.

First sentence: I really like animals. I like them a lot. Fifteen animals is what I've got. I've got fifteen animals. They're friendly and tame and I've given each one a special name--

Premise/plot: This counting, animal-themed book features a twist. A twist that is revealed as the protagonist reveals the names of his fifteen animals....I won't be spoiling here.

My thoughts: This one was over-the-top-silly. I liked it. Probably more than most of Sandra Boynton's other board books. I don't always love them. (Though I know they are supposedly always awesome.)

Pretty typical kids' board book, but with marvelous, humorous illustrations by one of my all time favorites -- Sandra Boynton. The text is very simple (and funny), but the illustrations are what "make" this book! Share with your pre-schooler!!

This story starts out with a little boy who tells the reader that he has fifteen friendly animals that all have very special names. He begins to count them off beginning with 1 cat named Bob. The boy keeps counting his animals revealing that they all have the same name: Bob. When he gets to animal number fifteen he reveals his pet turtle whose name is, quite unexpectedly, Simon James Alexander Ragsdale the Third.

I really enjoyed this book. When I started reading I quickly realized that all of the animals would be named Bob but I didn’t expect the last animal’s name. I think young children would really enjoy the repetition and the silliness of each animal having the same name, except for the turtle of course! I thought the show more illustrations were wonderful. They were simple, colorful, fun, and amusing. Overall, I think it’s a cute story with a silly unexpected ending.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. The children could cut pictures of fifteen animals out of magazines to glue on paper. Then they can name their own animals and present their special animals to the class.
2. The book has a song to accompany it so we can read the book again while listening to the song. The children can be told to count out the numbers as we reach fifteen together. show less

This is probably one of my favorite counting books! This story is silly and fun to read to the class. The cartoon pictures create a safe creative demeanor.

The book looks so simple how could anyone enjoy this again and again? Evie is almost 2 and loves learning what animals are featured on each page, points to the numbers (learning counting) and its fun to read the last page in a silly voice!

I love Sandra Boynton books! Most may be board books supposedly for small children, but they are hugely entertaining. This counting book uses her technique from "But Not the Hippopotamus" to count various animals named Bob.